As a result of Hurricane Ian’s impact on the western part of the island, the Cuban government has claimed that the entire country is without power.
After one of the primary power plants could not be brought back online, the electrical system is in total collapse, according to officials.
Two fatalities and structural damage were recorded nationwide.
The category three hurricane has winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) and is currently coming down on Florida.
On Tuesday, the president of the electrical energy authority said on Cuban state television that an island-wide blackout had occurred due to the failure of the national electrical system, putting 11 million Cubans in the dark.
A journalist for a state-run news outlet said that 100 percent of the country’s electrical circuits were out of service and that “the Antonio Guiteras thermo-electric power plant… could not be synchronized.”
Antonio Guiteras, located in Matanzas, 100 kilometers east of the Cuban capital Havana, is the most important energy facility in Cuba. Due to its closure, no power is now being generated anywhere on the island.
The owner of the renowned cigar manufacturer Finca Robaina released images of the destruction caused by the hurricane to the tobacco crops on social media.
It was catastrophic and a genuine catastrophe wrote Hirochi Robaina.
As a result of Hurricane Ian, forecasters had warned that certain sections of Cuba might receive up to 30cm (12in) of precipitation.
Myelin Suarez, a Pinar del Rio resident, stated that Monday night, when the storm struck, was “the darkest of her life.”
“We nearly lost our home’s roof,” she told Reuters. My daughter, husband, and I secured it with a rope to prevent it from escaping.
The Cuban president tweeted that President Miguel Diaz Canel visited the province and declared that it will “rise above hardship.”
A 43-year-old lady was killed in the province after her home’s walls collapsed. The New York Times reported that a farmer in the village of San Juan y Martnez was electrocuted while attempting to turn off an irrigation-related wind turbine.
After passing Cuba, the hurricane has been gaining strength in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Tuesday evening, the hurricane passed over the Florida Keys, an archipelago off the southeastern coast of the state.
It is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida late Wednesday.
The NHC predicts that Ian will be a category four hurricane with winds exceeding 130 mph by the time it reaches the western coast of Florida. About 2.5 million Floridians are under mandatory evacuation orders.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that the storm is “the real deal.”
Over the weekend, he proclaimed a state of emergency for the whole state of Florida and activated 5,000 National Guard troops.
The Tampa area might experience its first direct hurricane hit since 1921, and the storm surge along the shore could reach 3 meters (10 feet).
As the hurricane approaches the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys, meteorologists have warned of the possibility of flash floods.
Georgia, a neighboring state, has also declared an emergency and deployed 500 National Guard troops on standby.
The White House has issued its declaration of emergency, which will aid federal and state officials in coordinating disaster relief and support.
Tuesday evening, Democratic President Joe Biden met with Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, and the two vowed to “maintain close coordination,” according to the White House.
The repercussions of Hurricane Fiona, which tore through the Caribbean last week, are still being felt.
Fiona, which moved northward over portions of the Atlantic Canada shoreline and eastern Quebec over the weekend, claimed two lives, washed homes into the sea, and toppled power lines.
